1 'Tis not a cause of small import
The pastor's care demands,
But what might fill an angel's heart,
And filled a Saviour's hands.
2 They watch for souls for whom the Lord
Did heavenly bliss forego--
For souls that must for ever live
In rapture or in woe.
3 All to the great tribunal haste,
The account to render there;
And shouldst thou strictly mark our faults,
Lord! how should we appear?
4 May they that Jesus whom they preach,
Their own Redeemer, see,
And watch thou daily o'er their souls,
That they may watch for thee.
Source: Laudes Domini: a selection of spiritual songs ancient & modern (Abr. ed.) #486
Philip Doddridge (b. London, England, 1702; d. Lisbon, Portugal, 1751) belonged to the Non-conformist Church (not associated with the Church of England). Its members were frequently the focus of discrimination. Offered an education by a rich patron to prepare him for ordination in the Church of England, Doddridge chose instead to remain in the Non-conformist Church. For twenty years he pastored a poor parish in Northampton, where he opened an academy for training Non-conformist ministers and taught most of the subjects himself. Doddridge suffered from tuberculosis, and when Lady Huntington, one of his patrons, offered to finance a trip to Lisbon for his health, he is reputed to have said, "I can as well go to heaven from Lisbon as from Nort… Go to person page >| First Line: | 'Tis not a cause of small import |
| Author: | Philip Doddridge |
| Language: | English |
| Copyright: | Public Domain |
'Tis not a cause of small import. Part of "Let Zion's watchmen all awake," p. 674, i.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)
My Starred Hymns